Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, we have all agreed several times that the problem with housing relates to supply. The supply of houses is not sufficient to meet demand. Housing demand is not a lot of people who want houses; housing demand is a lot of people who want houses and can put the money up to buy them. It is much more likely that the hugely increased activity in the mortgage market is contributing to the additional demand driving up prices than anything in the help-to-buy scheme. A sum of €22 million is neither here nor there as an injection over an 11-month period into house purchasing. If that is compared to the billions of euro that have been authorised in mortgages, the Deputy can see the relativities. There is no doubt that additional money leading to money demand tends to drive up prices but the amount provided under the help-to-buy scheme is relatively small in comparison to the credit and savings available in the market. There is significant increased money demand for houses now. The scheme is working as intended but we will know when I get the report back from Indecon, which I will share with Deputies.

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